Emma Jevne
October 3, 1914 - December 13, 2004
Obituary
Emma Jevne, 90, resident of Kent, died on December 13, 2004 at Judson Park Health Center in Des Moines. She was born October 3, 1914 in Westneau, Canada. Emma was the youngest of seven children and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She was preceded in death by her husband, Meredith Jevne with the Washington State Patrol. Emma and her husband and two daughters, Shirley and Darlene emigrated to the United States in 1940. Emma will be remembered for her high energy and zest for life. She kept busy gardening as she loved working in the earth. She was involved in Normandy Park Grandmother’s Club and the Kent Senior Center where she was busy playing cards and volunteering her time at the coffee shop. Emma had a love for children and spent many years taking care of her grandchildren. We will all miss her great pie making and her love for a good box of chocolates. Left to mourn her passing are her two daughters, Shirley Landa Jorge and Darlene Jevne and seven grandchildren; Michael Landa, Terry Landa, Jorge Landa Jr., Elena Landa, Susan Landa-Rogers Jeff, Lance Jevne, Jeffrey Jevne Marsalis and three great-grandchildren; Adam Landa, Gino Rogers and Kali Rogers. Emma’s family was her life. She will be greatly missed. Commemorative Ceremony and Committal Service officiated by Father Gerald Mayovsky will be held on December 18th at 10:00 AM at BONNEY-WATSON Washington Memorial, 16445 International Blvd., SeaTac, WA 206 242-1787. Remembrances in honor of Emma may be made to “Judson Park Heritage Honor Society” attention: Nursing Scholarship Fund.
Sign Memorial Guestbook Date:
Friday, December 24, 2004.
Eulogy Date:
Saturday, December 18, 2004.
I was asked by my mother, Darlene Jevne, to speak to you today, on behalf of my grandmother, Emma Jevne. It is with great honor, and pride, that I stand here before you, and do so. Emma’s life is a more remarkable tribute to her, than I can ever hope to offer her today.
Today is a very difficult day for me, because I am saying goodbye to one of my best friends, my grandmother. And so I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief, in a day of mourning. We are all united, not only in our desire to pay our respects to Emma, but rather in our need to do so, as we lost her in the early hours of Monday morning.
My grandma should not be idolized, but she should be remembered, for what she was in life. We remember her, simply as a good and decent woman. She had a particular unique brand of excellence. She saw family wrong, and tried to right it, saw family disputes, and tried to stop them, saw family suffering, and tried to heal it. And in doing so, she remained intact, true to herself.
Today belongs to Emma, and today is our chance to say thank you, for the way you brightened our lives. And only now, that you are gone, do we truly appreciate what we are now without. And we want you to know, that life without you is very, very difficult.
We have all realized our loss over the past week. And only the strength of the message you gave us through your years of kindness, and sympathetic nature, has afforded us the strength to move forward.
I believe your greatest gift was your intuition, and it was a gift you used wisely. This is what underpinned, all your other wonderful attributes. And if we look to analyze, what it was about you that had such a wide appeal, we find it in your instinctive feel, for what was really important in all our lives.
I have so many personal and cherished memories of my grandmother, and those are days I will always treasure. At times, I reflect back on my personal memories of her, and it is, as if I had been transported back to my childhood, when she and I spent such an enormous amount of time together.
I recall fondly, my grandma picking me up after school in her car, or stopping by the house to check up on me to see if I was fine, as I was out sick during a school week. Or the many times, she took care of my brother and I, while my mother was working.
I also remember the many times, that she took me to a store to buy me a small present, just out of kindness. Or during the winter months, being up in the cabin in the mountains, bundling my brother and I up, to get ready for us to go out and ski. And during the summer months, floating around in our inflatable raft in our pond, with us, on our farm.
My grandma, also was an excellent gardener. If you ever came out and visited her at her house, she would most likely be in her back yard, doing some sort of gardening. During one summer year, my grandma and I, even made a vegetable garden together at my mother’s house. Yet, another fond memory that I will have about her, for the rest of my life.
Speaking philosophically, I believe when one passes on, one might take a good look back at there life, and one might ask themselves questions? Did I live a proactive life, did I leave a mark, and make a difference during my short stay here, did I love and was I loved back? From knowing my grandma my entire life, I can honestly say that I believe she accomplished all of these goals, and so much more.
Those of us who loved her, and take her, to her grave today, pray what she was to us, what she wished for others, will someday come true for all of us. Now, she is united back, with her mother and father, her brothers and sisters, her husband, and her friends.
Shirley and Darlene, we all care desperately, for you today. We are all chewed up, with sadness at the loss of your mother. How great you’re suffering is, we cannot even imagine. Above all, we give thanks, for the life of a woman, I am proud to be able to call my grandma. The unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Emma. Whose beauty, both internal, and external, will never be extinguished from our minds.
In summary, let it be known from this day forth, that the most senior family member, has handed over the family torch, to the next generation of most senior family members, Shirley and Darlene.
As a family, we stand together on the edge of a new frontier, a new turning point in family history. The new frontier of which I speak, is not a set of promises, it is a set of challenges, a set of leadership, not salesmanship. Challenges that will fall in your hands, as being the most senior family members now, you cannot fail to try.
I’m asking each of you, to be pioneers towards this new frontier. All great and honorable actions, are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage. The only valid test of leadership, is the ability to lead. May your imagination, wisdom, and may your courage, will guide us through the unknown, combining both family’s coming together as one.